


Safe

by MadalineGrace



Series: What's Your Emergency? [11]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Bleeding Out, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Season 3, blood thinners, cut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23694328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadalineGrace/pseuds/MadalineGrace
Summary: Arguably, a fire station was one of the safest places to be. Where else could someone be surrounded by powerful rescue equipment, stores of medical supplies, and a dozen highly trained first responders? In the event of an emergency, there were few places Buck would rather be. Maybe his love for the job had clouded his thinking, lulled him into a false sense of security, he mused as he stared at the growing lake of blood beneath him. After today, it was safe to say that that illusion had been shattered…
Series: What's Your Emergency? [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688359
Comments: 14
Kudos: 309





	Safe

Arguably, a fire station was one of the safest places to be. Where else could someone be surrounded by powerful rescue equipment, stores of medical supplies, and a dozen highly trained first responders? In the event of an emergency, there were few places Buck would rather be. Maybe his love for the job had clouded his thinking, lulled him into a false sense of security, he mused as he stared at the growing lake of blood beneath him. After today, it was safe to say that that illusion had been shattered…

* * *

It was an exceedingly average day and Buck could not have been happier. A year ago, he would’ve been bored out of his mind, waiting impatiently for some high stakes rescue to get his adrenaline flowing. Now though? Things had changed over the last six months and Buck found that he didn’t crave the danger as much. After the bombing and the tsunami and everything else that followed, he enjoyed the simple calls. He welcomed the fender benders and the kids with fingers stuck in park benches and he especially enjoyed returning to the station without the feeling of blood drying on his hands. More than anything else, he enjoyed the camaraderie and easy banter with his team. Nobody had died and they had made it back in time for lunch. It was a good day.

It seemed that the universe had a way of knowing when Buck had gotten too comfortable. In retrospect, he should’ve never taunted fate by acknowledging his recent run of good luck, He should’ve just taken the win and kept on moving. Instead, he’d paused for minute, grinning like an idiot as he watched the rest of the 118 laughing at one of Chimney’s lame jokes. He’d taken a second to recognize that life was finally getting back to normal. And then, he heard it. The harsh, metallic groan from above them. The others were too absorbed in their laughter to notice, but Buck looked up and his heart froze. They’d always joked that these old rigs were held together by chewing gum and spit, and today Buck believed it as he watched a section of the giant ladder wobble in its mount and snap off. There wasn’t time to think. The moment he saw it break, Buck was rushing his team, tackling them out of way. He barely registered their confused grunts of surprise as they all tumbled to the floor in a heap. For a moment, no one moved in the deafening silence that followed.

“Everyone okay?” Bobby broke in, ever the leader.

“I’m good, Cap.” Hen replied.

“Same here.” Agreed Eddie.

“Nothing but a bruise from linebacker Buckley.” Quipped Chim.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Would you rather I let you get crushed by a falling ladder?” Buck retorted good naturedly. Bobby felt the tension leak out of his shoulder as they all sounded off.

“That was some quick thinking there, Buck. I don’t think thank you cuts it.” Bobby said warmly as he pushed himself to his feet and inspected the wreckage. Buck flushed and gave him a bashful smile.

“Make your world-famous chicken carbonara and we’re square?” He asked hopefully. Bobby chuckled.

“Kid, I think you’ve earned it…and I’ll see if I can whip up your favorite cheesecake before the shift is over.” Buck’s face lit up, his blue eyes brightening at the prospect. “Go get cleaned up, all of you. I’ll call in for a new truck.”

Once they’d been dismissed, they were quick to strip their gear. Their last call had been a small campfire that had gotten out of hand, so they were all in their turnout gear. While the others elected to simply ditch their heavy coats and pants before heading upstairs, Buck headed for the locker room.

“You comin’?” Eddie asked, glancing over his shoulder.

“Be there in a sec! I think I must’ve fallen into some oil when we hit the garage floor. My shirt is covered in the stuff. I’m just gonna throw on a fresh one and then I’ll be right up.”

As Buck approached his locker, he nearly stumbled over his boots. _Weird_ , he thought. They seemed so much heavier today. Brushing it off, he started undoing his lock, but he stopped when he noticed the smears of red he left on the locker door. _What the hell?_

“Hey man, Bobby wants to know how many breadsticks you want with…” Buck looked up when Eddie jogged in, frowning when his friend trailed off and froze in the doorway. In a split second, Eddie’s face went from relaxed and jovial to slack jawed and terrified. Buck could literally see the color draining from his face.

“Eddie?” Buck questioned, trying to figure out what had the man so upset.

“CAP!” Eddie’s shout seemed obscenely loud in the small room as he sprinted over toward Buck and practically shoved him down onto the bench.

“Eddie, what the hell are you-“

“Why didn’t you tell us you were hurt?” Eddie cut him off, his voice tense.

 _Hurt? What…oh._ Suddenly, the burning pain in his arm registered and Buck realized what the red smudges on his locker were. Slowly, he looked up to where Eddie was holding his arm, gripping it like a vice.

“I…I didn’t know…didn’t feel it.” Buck’s admission didn’t seem to calm Eddie in the slightest. He was about to say something when the others burst in.

“What’s wrong? We heard you…holy shit.” Chim cursed, his eyes widening at the scene before him.

“Grabbing the med kits!” Hen called, already running out of the room. Bobby and Chim surged forward, slipping into their roles.

“What happened?” Bobby asked, grabbing a stack of washcloths and helping Eddie press them to the wound.

“Not sure. I found him in here, bleeding all over the damn place.” Eddie explained tersely. “He said he didn’t know he was injured. Probably happened when he tackled us. Maybe he got clipped by some of that metal?”

“And, of course, he’s on blood thinners.” Muttered Chim, kneeling in front of his new patient. “Buck, how we doin’?” Buck, for his part, had mostly left the conversation. Instead, he was staring in morbid fascination at the steady stream flowing down his arm. When Buck said nothing, Chim gave his leg a small shake. “Buck?”

“Hmm, what?” Buck glanced up, snapping back to the present.

“I asked how you were doing.” Chim repeated, gratefully accepting a bag from Hen.

“I’m okay. Hurts a little.”

“He’s losing way too much blood.” Eddie said nervously. “Bobby, my hands are slipping. Can you keep it elevated while I glove up?”

“Got him.”

“Here, I’ve got the trauma dressing.” Hen said, standing up to join him. “Keep pressure ‘til I say. This sucker’s deep and it looks like it nicked a vessel.”

Together, they quickly pulled off the wad of soiled cloths and wrapped his forearm tight with the hemostatic gauze. Before they covered the wound, Buck got a brief look at the deep gash that stretched along his inner arm from wrist almost to elbow. His stomach flipped, maybe from the gruesome sight, or, more likely, from the blood loss. He was starting to feel a little spacey and the room was definitely starting to move around him. He’d barely even noticed that an IV had been inserted in his hand.

“How ya feelin’, buddy?” Eddie asked as he knelt down next to him, taking over for Chim while the other man went to prep the ambulance. Buck swallowed against the rising nausea.

“Ummm, not so great.”

“I know, just hang in there. Once we get you stable, we’ll get you to the hospital, okay?” Eddie flashed his best reassuring smile while he started taking Buck’s vitals.

“Right…yeah…” Buck mumbled, his head sagging to his chest.

“Hey, stay awake, kid!” Bobby commanded from somewhere above him. Buck’s head bobbed up and he blinked blearily up at his team.

“Awake…right…can’t sleep.” God, he was so dizzy.

“Pulse is racing and his blood pressure’s dropping too fast.” Eddie announced worriedly. Buck laughed, a weird, soft sort of giggle that had everyone staring in concern.

“I…I think I’m going into shock.” Buck’s voice shook a little.

“Don’t you worry, pal. We’ll get you taken care of.” Promised Eddie, trying to sound more confident than he was. Buck’s skin was grey, and his eyes kept dipping shut.

“Guys, we got a problem.” Chim said breathlessly as he ran in with a backboard. “Everyone else is out on calls and the only rig we have left is the one that did this.”

“We can still drive the thing without a ladder.” Bobby pointed out, adding yet another layer to the soaked bandages. Chim shook his head.

“One of the tires got slashed by the ladder. It’s not going anywhere.”

“We can call for another, but that’s gonna take too much time.” Eddie suggested.

“Wait, I took my van today!” Hen snapped her fingers. “My seats fold down and there’d be enough room for us in the back.”

“Makeshift ambulance.” Eddie shrugged.

“Alright, Hen, Chim, grab everything you think we’ll need and get the van ready. Eddie, let’s get him on here.” Bobby commanded decisively.

“Okay, Buck, here we go. Try to stay still and let us do the work.” Together, they arranged Buck so he was lying on the bench,

“Lift on three. Ready? One…two…three!” On Bobby’s count, they carefully transferred him onto the backboard. Buck moaned as a wave of pain and dizziness assaulted him.

“Hold on, Buck. See if you can stay awake for us.” Eddie urged, but Buck wasn’t paying attention. As quickly as they could, the two of them began rushing him out to the parking lot. They were almost to Hen’s van when a voice called out.

“Hey! Am I too late for lunch or…what the hell?!” Athena’s tone abruptly changed when she saw the blood-soaked group before here. Bobby suddenly remembered inviting her over for the meal before everything had gone sideways. _Had that only been fifteen minutes ago?_

“Buck’s bleeding bad and this is our only transport.” Bobby explained hurriedly, obviously leaving out the majority of the details. Athena took it her stride.

“I’ll give you an escort. You just focus on keeping that boy alive.” She said firmly, casting one last glance at Buck before getting into her cruiser. A few minutes later, they were tearing out of the lot with Hen behind the wheel. In back, Buck lay disturbingly still. Bobby knelt near his head, keeping his injured arm raised. On either side, Chim and Eddie worked to stabilize him.

“BP’s dropping of a cliff. Saline isn’t cutting it.” Eddie fretted. Chim looked up from the oxygen mask he was fitting over Buck’s face.

“TXA?” He suggested. Eddie scrubbed a hand over his stubble.

“Shit, I haven’t used that since Afghanistan. With his history of clots, though?”

“I don’t see another option. I don’t want to do a tourniquet if I don’t have to. He almost just lost a leg and I don’t want to be the reason he loses an arm. But at this rate, he’s gonna bleed out before we get there.” Eddie nodded in agreement.

“What is TXA?” Bobby asked.

“Tranexamic acid.” Replied Chim as he prepared a syringe with clear liquid. “It’s used by some doctors to encourage clotting in patients with severe hemorrhaging. We keep a little in our kits, but I’ve only used it a handful of times.”

“Could this cause another embolism?”

“It’s a risk.” Chim admitted with a sigh. “But it works differently from most coagulants. It doesn’t form new clots so much as it helps hold clots together. Even if he did throw another embolism, we’d be at the hospital by that point and he’d be under close observation.” Bobby nodded, watching closely as Chim injected the contents into Buck’s IV line. As they sped over a small pothole, Buck twitched and moaned softly.

“You with us, Buckaroo?” Chim gave his leg a gentle squeeze. Buck coughed weakly and his eyes fluttered open partway.

“We goin’…to the…where? I don’t…’member…that place…” He slurred almost incoherently. Eddie held back the frown at Buck’s obvious confusion.

“It’s alright, buddy. We’re going to the hospital and we’re gonna get you all fixed up.”

“Izzat where…I thought…she said…she…said…she…” Buck trailed off as he faded out again, his head coming to rest against Bobby’s knee.

“Stay with us, Buck.” Bobby whispered, ignoring the tears that pricked at the corners of his eyes.

* * *

It was hours before they heard anything. Hours of sitting in hard vinyl chairs, waiting and praying that they’d been fast enough. Hours of ignoring the shocked and horrified looks passersby shot them when they saw the bloodstained hands and uniformed. Hours of replaying the moment Buck had flatlined as he’d been wheeled beyond the double doors.

At some point, one of the other teams from the 118 took pity on them and brought fresh clothes from their lockers. They’d left the waiting room one at a time, albeit reluctantly, to change and scrub the dried blood from beneath their finger nails. It really was everywhere. When Eddie had taken of his ruined shirt, he’d nearly vomited at the sight of the blood, _Buck’s blood_ , that had soaked through onto his chest. He’s scrubbed himself furiously until the skin glowed pink, but it didn’t help. He still felt it there, burning like he’d been branded. After that, he’d been determined to distract himself. He’d sat with Chimney as they work to figure out a way to contact Maddie, who was at some therapy retreat for the week. Anything to avoid thinking about the horrors of the day.

They were all just about climbing the walls by the time someone came out and called for the family of Evan Buckley. There was a long, detailed explanation of his condition, but really, none of them heard much beyond the assurances that he was alive and that they could see him. The nurse had tried to enforce a two person at a time rule, but it was a futile attempt. They, very politely, brushed past her and entered Buck’s room.

It was dark inside, the lights dimmed to reflect the late hour. Buck lay on the bed, surrounded by a myriad of tubes and wires, looking smaller than Bobby had ever seen him. He was so pale and so still that if it hadn’t been for the heart monitor beeping reassuringly in the corner, he’d have thought the man was a corpse. And yet, as they all filed in, Buck’s eyes flicked open about halfway.

“Welcome back, kid.” Bobby kept his voice soft and warm, unsure of what kind of state Buck was in. He sat down in the chair next to Buck’s head and took one of his cold hands between his own.

“Hey guys.” Buck greeted tiredly. His words were quiet and breathy, as if the act of talking was exhausting.

“How are you feeling?” Asked Eddie, perching on the edge of the bed.

“I dunno. Pretty tired. Arm aches a little.”

“That’s to be expected, Buckaroo. You left a whole lot of that blood of yours in the back of Hen’s van.” Chim ribbed gently.

“O-oh.” Buck stuttered, looking a little guilty. “I’m sorry, Hen. I’ll pay for that.”

“Forget it.” She dismissed with a wave of her hand. “It was time for us to get a new one anyway. Besides, you’re way more important than some old car.”

“You said it, sister.” Athena agreed, leaning in to give Buck a quick peck on the cheek. “You really had us worried there, baby.” She suspected that he would’ve blushed if he’d had the blood to spare.

“I’m okay now, I think…right?”

“You’re gonna be fine, Buck.” Confirmed Bobby. “They want to keep you here a couple days to get your levels back to normal and to monitor you for any signs of bleeding, clotting, or infection, but you’ll be good as new in a few weeks.”

“You gotta stop scaring me like this, buddy. I about had a heart attack when I saw you in the locker rooms. I am holding you personally responsible for any new grey hairs.” Eddie accused lightly. Buck huffed out a small laugh.

“I don’t even know how I got cut in the first place.”

“You don’t remember?” Hen asked, her brow creasing a bit.

“I remember Eddie losing his shit and seeing the blood, but everything after that is pretty fuzzy.” Buck admitted.

“You got hurt playing the damn hero…again.” Chim chastised, but there was no real heat behind his words. “You shoved us out of the way of a falling hunk of ladder. That ring any bells?”

“That’s what did this?” Chim nodded.

“And then, blood thinner boy, you just about bled out on us. I’m with Eddie here. You’re turning me grey before my time. And Bobby, well…let’s just say he should’ve invested in some Just For Men the moment you walked in to the station.” He teased.

“Hey!” Bobby cried in mock indignation. Athena chuckled and kissed her husband’s temple.

“Aww, I like a man with a little…distinction.” She said playfully. Buck rolled his eyes at Eddie and Chim.

“Mom and Dad are flirting again.” He joked around a yawn.

“I think it’s time Mom and Dad sent you to bed.” Athena replied, raising brow at the way Buck’s eyes were struggling to stay open.

“Already in bed.” Muttered Buck stubbornly.

“Athena’s right, kiddo. Get some sleep and we’ll be here when you wake up, okay?”

“Better be.” He mumbled, already drifting off.

“Wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Bobby murmured sincerely.

* * *

Two days later, Eddie eased a pale and anemic Buck out his truck. He’d been released from the hospital under strict orders to rest and Eddie had made it his personal mission to see that Buck followed those instructions to a tee. Not that Buck had the energy to defy them. As soon as Buck’s feet hit the pavement, his legs had begun to shake, and he’d nearly collapsed.

“Easy, just hold onto me.” Eddie muttered, holding Buck close. When he seemed to steady a bit, Eddie leaned him back a little. “You ready to try walking to the house or are you still too dizzy?”

“I’m good now.” Buck replied, though it wasn’t very convincing. Eddie let it slide. Despite the transfusions, it was going to take a while for him to recover from losing that much blood. He was still easily exhausted, alarmingly weak, and unsteady on his feet. Right now, he looked about two seconds from keeling over in the driveway.

“Okay, just let me know if you need to stop.”

They hobbled inside at an agonizingly slow pace. Twice, Buck had had to pause to catch his breath and fight the dark spots threatening to blot out his vision. Eddie waited, patient as ever. When they finally reached the door, a small face peeked out from behind.

“Hey Buck.” Christopher greeted, his smile as bright as ever. Carla had dropped his off just as he and Buck had arrived and he’d been waiting anxiously ever since. However, he remembered what his dad had told him.

“H-hey, Superman.” Buck panted, leaning heavily against Eddie while he caught his breath. Christopher giggled and wrapped an arm, the one not holding a crutch, supportively around Buck’s leg.

“Dad said you weren’t feeling good and that you were tired.”

“He did, huh?”

“Mmmmhhmmm!”

“Well, your dad…is one smart man.” Buck murmured breathlessly as Eddie lowered him onto the couch. Eddie snorted.

“I’m gonna remind you you said that.” Turning to his son he said, “Chris, you think you can keep an eye on Uncle Buck here while I get the guest room ready?” Christopher nodded emphatically and Eddie gave his curls a quick ruffle before heading down the hall.

When Eddie returned a few minutes later, his heart melted. Buck was sound asleep on the couch, with Christopher curled up against. His bad arm was tucked close to his chest and the other was wrapped tightly around the boy. As he approached, Chris opened one eye and held a finger to his lips. Eddie grinned and flopped down next to his son. Taking care not to wake the sleeping man, he gently lifted Buck’s legs so that they laid across his lap. As he sat there in the calm silence of his home, surrounded by two of the most important people in his life, only one word came to Eddie’s mind. _Safe_.


End file.
